I feel fortunate that I have never dealt with head lice. Not when I was a kid and not with my own kids. I know it is a very common problem and I’ve heard lots of stories, but crossing my fingers that it is only stories I will continue to hear and I’ll never have my own to tell!

If my kids do come home with head lice, I’m not even sure what I would do. I think that I would head down to the drug store to buy a treatment where you apply a cream on the head to comb out the nits. I’ve learned after writing this post that most moms would do this, but is it the best course of action?

The online survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Sanofi Pasteur during back-to-school season about Head Lice Management and Treatment. More than 2,000 U.S. moms aged 25 and older were studied.

Moms define the ideal head lice treatment as one that works quickly, is safe, and is easy to use. Statistics showed that while 67% of moms are aware of prescription treatments and 80% are aware of over-the-counter (OTC) treatments, around seven in ten recognize that not all head lice treatments work the same. Only 32% of moms who used an OTC treatment the last time they dealt with head lice and say the infestation was eliminated with just one treatment; the remainder (68%) say they used two or more OTC applications to treat the infestation or report the treatment did not resolve the infestation.

Bottom line? It sounds like getting a prescription from your doctor was a faster way to treat it! Did you know this?